One Blue Sky - Airport Recreations

[The_Hutt 11]

Hey folks!

I'm quite bored, so I've decided to do something unusual. I'll be taking requests - FROM YOU - for an airport recreation. This is not a CJ, per se, and will not replace my current CJ, but will instead act as a supplementary showcase for airport recreations.

But first, to pique your interest, here's a sample recreation of mine: Sacramento International Airport (KSMF), with a Google Earth shot for comparison.

---

My recreations are fairly accurate, although there are obvious constraints concerning various aspects, such as terminal and roadway design. I tend to skimp on specific details, granting preference to creating an accurate aerial overview shot like the one above. With such limitations in mind, I ask that your requests comply with the following parameters:

1. The airport must fit in a large city tile! I'm not going to create Denver International for you because it's just too damn big. That basically means the entire airport must fit comfortably within a 12,000 foot-by 12,000 foot box. No exceptions whatsoever.

2. When viewed in real life with Google Earth, the airport has to have good quality at high zooms. If the airport is blurry on Google Earth I'm not going to be able to see any details.

3. The major runways (used regularly by commercial aircraft), if there are more than one, must be parallel and/or at 90 degree angles. I don't have the capacity to create diagonal runways at this point in time. If your airport has a smaller general aviation runway at a 45 degree angle, that is acceptable, but don't go too far with that. Runway orientation does not matter, but keep in mind your runway headings will be 9/18/27/36 no matter what they are in real life.

4. For the love, it needs to have at least some commercial airline service. I'm not going to bother considering your local county airpark.

5. If you want fancy content that's not publicly availably or isn't LOT'ed (like certain custom planes), you'll need to either LOT it or BAT it yourself and email it to me. I have no expertise with these tools.

---

ENTRY:

Anyone can enter. Just provide the name of the airport, the city and state (or country) it's in, the ICAO code, and a few sentences about why I should pick your request. Keep in mind that it's highly unlikely that I will have actually traveled through any of these.

I'll take requests for three days or so before I pick an airport, at that point I will score them and pick the highest. Keep in mind I will heavily favor airports which are friendly to the SC4 grid (i.e. lots of straight lines). Since airports are huge projects, it'll likely be up to two months before I roll out the completed product on this thread, though I will post screenshots of the airport under construction.

Don't fret if your request isn't chosen this time around - I'll repeat the same process every couple of months.

---

SAMPLE SUBMISSION SCORES:

I'll rank their recreation potential on a scale of 0-10.

KSMF - Sacramento, CA. 10/10 - Parallel runways, simple layout, boxy design, medium sized - can't go wrong here.

KSAT - San Antonio, TX. 8/10 - Simple parallel/perpendicular runways, only real ding here is the weird terminal/parking layout.

KLGA - New York City, NY. 6/10 - Perpendicular runways and fits quite nicely in a city tile, but complicated terminal/road layout and terraforming the water make this more challenging.

KSEA - SeaTac, WA. 4/10 - Parallel runways, but diagonal terminals and a complicated taxiway design make this tough.

KMEM - Memphis, TN. 2/10 - Parallel runways, but the terminal design is complicated. Even worse, I would be forced to cut out the entire FedEx hub and runway at the northern end of the airport. Not a desirable option at all.

KMSP - Minneapolis-Saint Paul, MN. 0/10 - Runways are at weird angles, won't fit on a large city tile, complicated design. Makes a recreation impossible.

---

If you have questions, ask away. But send in those requests!

- The_Hutt

[fabsies55 5]

wow thats pretty similar but with a massive airport theres gotta be a massive city right? (i know not all the time but still)

good job with that airport by the way

[tomdapom 79]

Hey, this is a great idea! Very unique and I think it'll be a real success!

As a first, how bout you try recreating Christchurch (New Zealand) International Airport? The whole airport is on a 45 degree angle, but it wouldn't matter if you just rotated the map 45 degrees.

Good luck with this ambitious project!

[Devilman 1]

ooO! Interesting! How about trying to do the Helsinki-Vantaa International Airport in Helsinki, Finland?

[Shingure 56]

Very nice recreation. How about PHL International Airport.

[Smarty218 2]

*Bows Down*

All Hail the Airport God!

~TJ

[Za 164]

Wow, that is really good. I never had much patience with diagonal taxiways. I'd love to see you do Heathrow (spelling?) Just joking...

[xlchrisij 0]

Nice nice I think Schiphol would be very hard to build for you, or not

[sim-Al2 4]

I thought of a good one!

How about Kai Tak International (a.k.a. the old Hong Kong International. I know it's not on Google Earth anymore but there still lots of pictures around

EDIT: I found a site with several useful diagrams. I'm attaching the link because I don't think I supposed to attach them directly. However, if you have a slow internet connection, there are some videos on this page. 

http://www.flyingtigersgroup.org/Cathay/KaiTak.htm




According to Wikipedia, the runway was 11,112 ft. I know the picture is diagnol, but you can build straight and make the approach at a diagnol.

[irdesi 0]

I would suggest Boston...but yeah...well, that would be impossible -10/10. Sacramento looks great. For kicks, how about Albany International Airport (NY)? It's fairly small, with two 7200ft perpendicular runways. The only annoyance is a diagonal terminal pier.

[Amerikaner 42]

Hmm this is an interesting idea. How about Austin Bergstrom Airport, where I live?

[krbe 193]

No, no, no! First and foremost, Washington National (KDCA)! Though, diagonal runways makes it tough (though you might use diagonal taxiways / heavy taxiways?).

If Washington National is out of the question, why not London City (EGLC)? A 10 out of 10 for its simple design and space requirements.

[lucky7 73]

Great idea!!! If I ever need an airport I know whom to refer to, looking forward to seeing your replica,

lucky7

[kurtvedder 4]

Try Portland International in Portland, Or (KPDX). The hardest part will be the parking garage.

[Mother of Invention 23]

http://wikimapia.org/#lat=35.8123147&lon=-83.9900494&z=14&l=0&m=a&v=2

Mcgeehe-Tyson Airport.

[Simcitymaster13 27]

i would like to suggest recreating Denver International Airport (DIA)

i can just imagine the look of the terminal.

[rbpolsen 0]

A good notion.

[rusty_777 0]

Try creating Regina International Airport (YQR). It's not too big. Located in Saskatchewan, Canada.

[The_Hutt 11]

Reminder, folks, please read the parameters for submissions before making requests. Simcitymaster13, I don't mean any hard feelings by singling you out, but it's usually a good idea to avoid requesting an airport I explicitly stated as being impossible to recreate. I mean, I hate to be a douche about it, but why bother submitting something beyond my means?

So far the ones I'm even thinking about taking into serious consideration are these. If you submitted one and it's not here, go back to the first post and figure out why. Feel free to make another request, though.

- Christchurch

- Philadelphia (barely, though, since that one minor cross runway isn't quite perpendicular)

- TAFKAKT (the airport formerly known as Kai Tak)

- Albany

- London City

- McGhee Tyson / Knoxville

[connorc24 2]

Please do Seattle!!!! It's my home and I'll help you with nay info that you need!

[The_Hutt 11]

I'll give it one more day for entries before I announce my decision. Keep submitting!

- The_Hutt

[pilotdaryl 25]

Vancouver International Airport in Vancouver, Canada

Recreating YVR should'nt be too hard.  The airport has two primary runways (8L/26R, 8R/26L)

and also has a diagonal crosswind runway (4/32) that is not used but can be created with simple unmarked pavement.

The YVR as seen on google maps is quite outdated.  I suggest you also take a look at other map sources such as Windows Live, Yahoo, Mapquest, etc.  I tried and failed at recreating this airport before.  Although I do not have time to recreate this and cannot due to computer virus, I would certainly like to see this airport in SimCity 4!

[TheSixCents 0]

LAX. If you Dont do It I will

[masochist 111]

Hmmm...gonna guess that the "No diagonal runways" clause takes McCarren Int'l Airport (LAS) out of it.  And George Bush Intercontinental (HOU) is larger than Denver's airport (and has diagonal runways)...

So how about Austin-Bergstrom Int'l Airport in Austin, TX?  The runway layout is very similar to Sacramento, and even though everything around it is sort-of screwy, the airport itself is situated on a perfect north-south axis...though, like Philly, there is that one odd-angle at the northwest portion of the runway.

[jammerlxx 0]

Nice Job!  You always do really nice airports.

I like your idea here and look forward to the airports you will do.

[un1 41]

Nice job with the airport. I can't wait for more!! Good luck with this interesting CJ.

-un1

[willg 0]

London Gatwick please!

[xlchrisij 0]

Schiphol Amsterdam Airport

Not that easy, but very very nice. Well, looking forward to what every you are making. Looks like you have a lot of choise

[jacqulina 162]

great start nice looking airport there my friend

[fabsies55 5]

so whens the next update?